Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Cuts Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lessened its holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 684,267 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 29,381 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 1.19% of Kirby worth $72,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,152 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 3,317 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth approximately $6,783,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 54.9% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 20,836 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 7,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 4.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $100.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $93.63 and a one year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.